North Korea has previously claimed that the country has escaped any spread of covid-19.
On Monday and Tuesday, however, the country confirms that another fourteen people have died and nearly 670,000 have been infected with a "fever" that is suspected to be the omicron variant of covid-19.
Now North Korea's leaders are deploying the military to fight the virus.
Criticizes the country's healthcare
This weekend, North Korea's leader and dictator Kim Jong-Un held a crisis meeting with the country's senior heads of health and medical care, as well as the military.
During the meeting, Kim Jong-Un criticized the "irresponsible" work attitude and organization of the country's health care for the rapid spread of the virus.
The military is deployed
After the meeting, Kim Jong-Un gave orders to the country's army to distribute drugs to the population, writes Reuters.
He called on the nation and the military to work together.
- A society where everyone is helped is more powerful than the latest medical findings, he said during this weekend's meeting.
Refused vaccine
It is unclear what kind of medicine the military distributes to the people.
North Korea has previously turned down corona vaccines from other countries, including China.
In addition, it is unclear how many of the "fever" cases are linked to covid-19.
This can probably not be stated either, as the country's test capacity is extremely limited.
However, external experts believe that the outbreak may be worse than what the authorities state.
A total of around 1.5 million are said to have fallen ill and 56 ha have died since the outbreak began at the end of April.